Inven Global

With World of Warcraft: Forever (hereafter Forever) set to launch on Thursday, November 5, there is now just one month left until release. Highly anticipated under the banner of 'Classic+' even before its announcement at BlizzCon, the ongoing beta—running for about a month—has drawn a massive crowd of players.

Even though participation required purchasing the Skyborne Pack, an even larger global audience than Classic swarmed in, causing issues such as long login queues and server disconnections. With the official launch a month away, here are our impressions after playing through the Forever beta.

A High Elf splinter faction exiled on Zephras Isle

The new race, the 'Skyborne,' is a High Elf splinter group that branched off thousands of years ago, living alongside wind elementals in exile on the floating 'Zephras Isle.' At the start of Forever, the elementals suddenly vanish, leaving the island in danger of falling from the sky. Resolving this crisis forms the early storyline for the Skyborne.

The Skyborne were added as one of Forever's core concepts: 'elements that originally existed in Azeroth but were never highlighted.' Reactions have been mixed; many players resist the addition of a brand-new race to Classic in the first place, while others express dissatisfaction that the new addition feels like a palette swap of Blood Elves.

However, built on the Blood Elf foundation, they are naturally visually appealing and popular, and their story directly connects to unresolved lore in the existing WoW universe, such as Al'Akir the Windlord, making the playthrough genuinely enjoyable. Personally, I would have preferred not to see a race whose faction cannot be identified visually at a glance like Pandaren, but because there is a clear element of conflict between the 'High Order' joining the Alliance and the 'Windshapers' joining the Horde, the reasoning behind their opposition felt entirely convincing.

Playing Forever, my initial thought was, "So this is what the developers meant at BlizzCon when they emphasized the joy of unexpected encounters." Players gathered around campfires to receive minor buffs, and I found myself randomly sending party invites to foreigners who didn't even speak the same language just to complete quests.

As these moments accumulated, the experience went beyond merely leveling a character; I felt the true joy of 'roleplaying'—as if I had personally stepped into this world to explore. True to Classic, individual monsters packed a serious punch, some quest routes were user-unfriendly, and progression took a long time, yet every single aspect brought genuine enjoyment.

Zephras Isle, the early zone for the Skyborne, features mountainous terrain, and due to map bugs in the early days of the beta, leveling wasn't easy. However, the questing route itself is concise and delivers an entirely fresh narrative, so I highly recommend experiencing it at least once.

While leveling a character in Forever was thoroughly entertaining, it didn't feel significantly different from the fun found in original WoW Classic. At least up to level 20, I couldn't feel a huge distinction between Classic and Forever. Though there are newly added dungeons, revamped talent trees, and the Legacy system, these aren't changes that impact lower-level gameplay noticeably.

In particular, once leaving Zephras Isle—where the narrative was entirely original—and traveling between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, the thought arose: "Isn't this just playing Classic all over again?" Of course, once Forever officially launches and players begin investing heavily in character talents and Legacy traits, that impression might change, but it is difficult to appreciate leveling progression through those systems during the early game.

Nevertheless, Forever possesses a unique advantage in that it delivers long-lasting 'classic' enjoyment backed by upgraded graphics and refined systems. True to the developers' remark that "Azeroth itself is the main character," the game faithfully delivers the thrill of exploring the world as a member of Azeroth before being the hero.

Ultimately, Forever is closer to an improved version of WoW Classic. If you are used to leveling on live servers—often referred to as 'Retail'—Forever's deliberate pacing, understated combat, and hands-on crafting loop of mining ores and brewing potions after learning skills one by one may feel burdensome.

However, if you approach it not by rushing toward endgame content like raids, but as a relaxing roleplaying game where you complete elite quests alongside serendipitous allies, tackle dungeons, and uncover hidden lore across Azeroth, it delivers proven fun with substantial added value. For anyone invested in Warcraft lore, discovering previously unrevealed backstory or exploring 'what if' narrative branches in Forever provides enjoyment far beyond simple nostalgia.

Given the developers' promise not to release subsequent expansions like The Burning Crusade or increase the level cap, the overall progression pacing is likely to differ significantly from Retail. Once Forever officially launches, we recommend setting aside rapid, efficient leveling and endgame farming for a while, and simply soaking in the world and atmosphere of Azeroth at your own pace.